Obama's Speech to Congress: So Why Am I Skeptical?
Obama's speech last week to Congress has been described as a "wake up call" -- with its aggressive and ambitious proposals to boost spending on education-- including $30 billion to avoid further teacher layoffs, and $30 billion more to renovate school facilities. These funds that are desperately needed asmore than 2/3 of states and districts are suffering big cuts and increases in class size this fall -- with nearly a quarter million fewer school staff employed in June 2011 compared to two years before. As the Presidentsaid:
"Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the competition has never been tougher. But while they're adding teachers in places like South Korea, we're laying them